Markum’s 20-year sentence upheld
A 20-year sentence given to a man for torching a pair of houses just before Christmas two years ago will stand as the court nixed his appeal for a new trial.
The claim by defendant Dorris Lee Markum, 30, that lawmen should have taken samples of his clothes for analysis for presence of an accelerant was not enough to sway Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley, who let the sentence stand. Markum will likely now appeal his sentence to the state court of appeals.
Markum’s sentence comes after he was convicted this past August for two burglaries which occurred on in the Smartt Station area, in which he tried to set fire to the houses to cover his break-ins. His wife, Beth Markum was given an 11-29 probationary sentence for being the get-away driver in the caper. She reportedly was so intoxicated she passed out near the get-away car after she became stuck when she backed into a wall.
Prosecutors proved during trial Mr. Markum burglarized the two houses, setting fire to one by placing paper on the stove eyes and turning it on to cause a fire as he fled. The second house he doused in kerosene and set afire. Firefighters doused the flames before the houses were completely destroyed.
The sentence handed to Markum will be served at 35 percent, longer than the standard criminal sentence, due to his lengthy criminal record which includes arrests on over 20 counts dating back to when he was a juvenile. In a pre-sentence report, Markum maintained he committed all his crimes after drinking.